Butere Girls play to feature at drama festival after court's intervention

A play by the Butere Girls High School will now be featured at the National Drama Festival set for April 7, 2025, in Nakuru County, after initially being removed from the lineup despite qualifying.

This follows a High Court ruling that ordered Butere Girls High School Principal Jennipher Omondi to recall 50 drama students and ensure their participation in the festival.

This ruling comes after the principal reportedly sent the students home following a call from State House.

Last week, the play Echoes of War was excluded from the Western Regional winners’ gala, and the drama club was instructed to release its members by Monday, disrupting their preparations for the national event in Nakuru.

Although Butere Girls High School excelled at the Butere Sub-County level and secured third place in the Western Regional Drama Festivals, it was unexpectedly removed from the festival lineup.

Instead, Vihiga High School, which had placed eighth at the regional level, was selected to participate.

The exclusion of Echoes of War from the competition led Anifa Mango, a former student and dedicated thespian from Kisii County, to take legal action.

“That the Honourable Court be pleased to issue an order directing the Respondent to retain in school and/or recall all 50 students participating in the drama festivals, ensuring their participation in the National Drama Festivals set for April 7–15, 2025, in Nakuru County,” read Mango's petition. s

Advocate Kennedy Echesa, representing Anifa Mango, contended that the principal’s decision was arbitrary, unconstitutional, and infringed on the students’ rights to freedom of speech, expression, and fair administrative action.

“There is no legal authority, including State House or the Ministry of Education, that can bar the play, especially after it had been vetted and approved by professional adjudicators at various competition levels,” Echesa was quoted saying by the Standard.